


Its My Rhode, Not Yours

by Wrestlinglover12



Category: All Elite Wrestling, wrestling - Fandom
Genre: Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-08
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:41:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,309
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26362822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wrestlinglover12/pseuds/Wrestlinglover12
Summary: Novalee Matilde is the youngest Runnels sibling and the black sheep of the family. As a daddy's girl,  her fathers death hit her hard, but she vowed she would make a name for herself on her own two feet and spread her wings like her fathers approved she did, regardless of how the family felt. Now after the best part of 4 years "The Dark Angel Clemmie Rose" is back and making heads turn in her need for retribution. How will her family take to the new Nova and who's heart might actually bring the old Nova home.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 10





	1. Death Angel Commeth

"Nova, come on..." she heard her friend say for about the twentieth time"I dont know how many more times I have gotta say this. I don't want to work for them, with them or hell even in the same fucking state as them!" Nova seethed while replying to her friend, "Noves, you wouldnt be working for them, if you didnt want to even see them, you wouldnt have to. Your really good Nova, we want to give you a chance to shine like the star you are".Rolling her eyes, Nova looked up at the Clock on the wall in front of her, while playing with the ear of her mini Australian Shepherd Luna while watching her other mini Australian ShepherdLola chase her tall. This conversation with Matt Jackson had been going on for the best part of 2 and a half hours and she was getting to the point she was over it, "say I agree, do you swear to me they will have nothing to do with me. I mean it B1, if they start....." "I promise you Lee, they'll have nothing to do with you". Novalee started feeling her heart racing as she looked at the picture of her and her father on the fireplace from when she was about 14 and wiped her eyes. She sighed yet again , knowing that there was no way of getting out of this conversation " okay, okay Matt. Send me the details and directions to where I need to be and I will be there, but ill send you my terms" "you won't regret it Nova I swear to you. We have all missed you" Matt replied to which Nova responded "I'm sure not everyone has... I need to go Matt, I need to take the dogs for a walk, give the kids a hug from me" and before he could reply, she hung up.

Nova put her head back and tried to do as she had done over the last couple of years since being on her own , and that was centre herself to calm her body and mind from the ambush she seems to have just gone through. As she tried to calm down, all she could think of was her family and what they were doing. Its not that she didn't miss them, she missed them a lot, but after everything they had done and everything she had been through, she couldnt forgive them. Since her dad passed away, Nova never really felt like she belonged, between her brother careers in the WWE making headlines and her youngest brother being seen as her fathers prodigy, Nova struggled to see where she fitted in. She looked down at her two puppies tilted heads staring at her which made her smile. Those two puppies made her feel like someone loved her enough to see her do something with her life, " maybe I can do this. I can prove to them that I didn't and still dont need them" Novalee thought to herself as she thought back to the day that she was thrown out of her family.

** Flashback**

"You cant be serious" I hear my brother Cody practically yell after telling them my decision, " you are a Runnels, we get into the business, we use dads name Novalee, its tradition" I then hear my oldest brother add which pissed me off "so you using Golddust was tradition was it Dust? Or you Cody, or should I say stardust? Dad accepted my choice, why cant you two do the same" "that's not fair Nove" I then hear Brandi add which caused me to snap back at her "NO Brandi, what's not fair is me being treated like a stupid little girl" "then stop acting like one" I hear Cody bite back as I look at my mom, Teli and Kristin sitting there quietly as I continued " I am not doing this to upset or to anger you all. I am doing this for me and for my career MINE! I'm sick of being booked because of who we are or because of a surname. Dad was proud of me and would be if he was still here. He always wanted me to be me, regardless of what you or anyone else wanted me to be." I feel my eyes water thinking of my father and hear "dont bring dad into this Novalee, don't you dare" "I think we all need to calm down" I hear mom state "Novalee needs to know her place mom. She is a Runnels, she will compete as a Rhodes, like it or lump it" Cody seethed " Get this through that thick head of yours Cody. I..... am...... my.......own........person. What I choose to do with my life and career is my decision and mine alone, thats the joy of not signing my life away". I look at my family and see my brother walk over to me, seething and out of nowhere, he did the one thing I, nor any of the family ever thought he would do, and that was hit his baby sister around the face like she was one of his opponents as we hear everyone say in shock "Cody" and I look up, tears in my eyes as he says to me "whatever lie you want to tell yourself, to help you sleep at night, dad would be ashamed of you. If you dont want to use dads name, your not welcome around us. Your no Runnels." "That's think about this" Kristen said, finally speaking up as I made eye contact with my oldest brother who looked away which made me run out the house in tears as I hear my mom yell after me "Novalee, baby wait please".

**Flashback ended**

As she snapped herself out of her flashback, Novagot up from the sofa and stared at myself in the mirror, at her reflection and saw the changes she had made to herself since that day, both internally and externally and it was safe to saythat she no longer looked like a Runnels anymore and was okay with it.Turning around, she looked at her two dogs after hearing thembark and responded to them by saying " well, time to prove I made it without them right puppies" to which they both replied with a bark.Time for the Dark Angelof Death, Clemmie- Rose to right some wrongs and make her father proud


	2. Redemption  Commeth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Novalee has arrived at Daily’s place to see her family for the first time in years and she is nervous. Will it go well? Or will the path of redemption for the youngest Rhodes sibling be smooth

As Novalee stared at Daily’s Place, the environment where she was going to see her family for the first time in years, she would be lying if she didn’t admit she was feeling sick to the deepest depths of her stomach. A feeling of vulnerability hitting her, Nova started second guessing herself, maybe this wasnt a good idea,“if I leave now, I can be at home with a tub of ice cream within a couple of hour” she thought to herself.Before she could overthink any more, she heard a knock on her car window and as she turned, she saw her best friends Matt and Nick Jackson , who she hadn’t seen in about a year, feeling awkward contacting them since her brother attached himself to their group and a woman in a mask. As Nova wound down the window of her car, she looked over at Nick who said “ Holy Crap Lee-Lee, you look incredible” “ you doing okay?” she then heard Matt ask to which Nova simply replied with a shake of her head “dont be anxious. We’ve made sure you are gonna be nowhere near them Lee... I promise you. We do need to get you through testing though, health and safety”. Nova wiped her eyes and got out of her car and faced the woman who needed to test her and she gave her a wrist band before walking away to test her at the entrance Nova was going to slip into the building from. As she grabbed her bags, she felt Matt take them from her and Nick grab her suit bag holding her cape for tonight, so that she could hide her identity and walk in. As they walked in, Nova heard Nick ask “ what have you got planned for the reveal?” And Matt added, not knowing the effect it would have “I hear he is using a new nickname tonight, the prince of wrestling”. When Nova heard this, she froze at the mention of that nickname, a pang of pain hitting her in the stomach “he........ please tell me your joking Matt” she asked a he replied confused “ No... why what’s wrong”. the atmosphere could ve been cut with a knife as Nova stayed frozen to the spot, "I know we have had our issues, but how can he do thisiNova thought and shook her head and replied, drop any questions “forget it, just get me in please”. As wanting to walked in, Nova wondered how he could do this and think it was okay. Yes he was dads protagae, but that nickname, the ’princess of wrestling’ 'was always Novas, it was the one thing her dad had given to her when she told him that she wanted that make her own way in wrestling, without the help of the family name As they got inside, thankfully no one recognised Nova and they quickly got to the dressing room, Nova getting snapped out of her thoughts as Nick asked her “is the room alright Lee” to which Nova simply replied with a nod and Matt added “just text us if you need anything okay, we will leave you in peace’’ and they give her a smile and they both leave. As Nova sat down, she started thinking again about tonight and what their faces were going to look like seeing there little sister all grown up and a lot different to what they remembered.

As the hours went passed, the closer it got to Tv and to Nova’s debut and start of her journey of revenge and retribution. Knowing how long it took to get ready as a whole, from Indy shows she had done, Nova sighed as she forced herself up and went to her pop up dressing table she had brought with her and found her makeup bag and hair stuff and made a start transforming herself from Nova to Clemmie Rose, which consisted today of Black lips and a coppery eye. After spending the best part of 50 minutes, perfecting every detail of her makeup, she did her hair in a plaited crown with curled ends. As she stared at herself in the mirror, Nova looked at the changes she had made over the last few years and for the first time in a long time was happy about the fact to her, she no longer looked like a Runnels anymore, but even through the happiness, there was still a pang of regret and remorse that hit her as she thought back to a conversation she had with her father when she was a teenager. 

**Flashback**

“Daddy, I am going out, I dont know when I will be back” she said, trying to leave the house to go to a party she had been invited too before she received 21 questions from her parents, “little girl, come in here let me see you” she heard her dad call out and sighing, she walked into his office “ Daddy I am going to be late” she said to her father as she looked at him and saw him give her a disapproving look “ Novalee Matilde, where do you think you are going looking like that?” he asked as she replied“Its just a party dad, everyone is going to be dressed like this” “ well. I’m not everyone’s dad Moondust. You dont need to dress like everyone else or be like anyone else. You are perfect the way you are. I know its hard being a teenager, but you my baby are going to be big one day from your hard work, your classiness and your beauty." Looking at her dad, she gave him a hug and replied “if it makes you happier I will go and change into something else, but if Cody asks......” “I let you go out in the skimpiest outfit you own to annoy him” her dad laughed, wishing his two youngest children would get on. 

**Flashback ended**

As Nova stared at her now made up face and half done hair, She found herself fighting back tears the memories she has of time spent with her dad were the only things that had kept her going over the time she had been alone, and she wished he was still here and he could’ve stopped her from going through all the pain she had gone through. As she wiped her eyes before any tears could fall she said out loud “I miss you so much daddy”. Knowing she couldn’t dwell or even start thinking about her family in a sentimental manner,Nova shook herself out of her funk and continued trying to get ready. As Nova picked up her crown to start attaching it to head, she heard a knock at the door and before she could say anything, she heard the Bucks come in, along with her other best friend Tyson who joked "well, well, well, no hug for your favourite best friend","great just great" Nova thought as she turned around and looked at the bucks, giving them her famous death glare as Nick, picking up on her annoyance replied "Dont start giving out the death glares, woman we had no choice. He overheard us and he runs the woman's division! No one else knows”. Nova signed to herself, why was this becoming harder by the second, all she wanted to do was ruin her family and leave and carry on with the life she had made for herself, was that so hard. After hugging them all, Nova went to her suitcase and pulled out her gloves and her new mask she had made for another Indy show she was meant to do that had been cancelled as she heard Matt say, after unzipping the suit bag and looking at the Cape "so .... this is new?" "Destroy my family, try a new persona. Did you sort my Chair minion "she joked as she passed Tyson her mask, who helped her tie it "yeah yeah your death chair is sorted" Nick joked, sitting down and going onto his phone. After he helped her, Tyson asked the young woman "are you sure about this, taking on your family single handedly... it's gonna cause issues" to which Novalee replied "it caused issue when I had to work four jobs to live and worked myself to exhaustion getting my name noticed, working all the shows that I could to survive. He is going to pay for it, they all will " "well. ... I have an idea that might help "Tyson replied to the woman, a look of concern still etched on his face. 

Meanwhile, while they spoke, Cody had come out of his dressing room with Martin and they had ran into both Brandi and Dustin. Seeing a look of what he could only guess was a cross of sadness and uncomfortableness Dustin asked his brother, slightly concerned “ what’s wrong Code?”to which he replied “I just have a bad feeling something is going to happen, I don’t know why though.” After a couple of seconds, Dakota who had been talking to her dad before going back to take more photos suggested a reason "isnt it close to Auntie Star’s birthday...... maybe that's what it is" "I doubt its that , I haven’t thought of her in years Kota "Cody replied, lying a little to his niece as they walk past the room Nova was currently getting ready to bring her family down in. As they got closer to the production area, Martin turned to Cody,seeing that he was still in his head and said to him firmly “ get your head in the game Cody. Sky isnt going to be easy to beat. You thinking about Nova. When you havent seen her years isn’t going to help you keep your title" Martin stated as Laura asked , yet again slightly dimly “Why haven’t you seen her in years.. who is she, an ex girlfriend” and everyone turned to her in shock before they walked to the ring


	3. The Reckoning is here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clemmie- Rose makes her arrival and legions fully known and Nova comes eye to eye with her family for the first time since they chucked her out of the family.

As Cody stood, waiting to make his way to the ring, what he didn't realise was that Nova, with the help of Tyson, was close behind him, hiding in the dark spots where she could see them, but they wouldn't be able to see her and ruin her amazing reveal she had planned. As she heard Scorpio sky's theme hit, she hid in the dark just behind the production table and peered out as The Bucks, looking slightly guilty they were invovled in this, went up to Cody to wish him luck for the match. As she looked at her brother and his entourage he had called "the nightmare family", the anger she felt die down earlier, quickly came rising back to the surface again as Tyson came into her vision and whispered " you ready?"to which she simply nodded and replied coldly , trying to hide how she was feeling, and failing miserably " its like they have forgotten I ever existed. I thought chucking me out was enough " "Novie....." but before he could continue, the entrance of the champion started and the family went out. After they were out of sight, Ty took Nova's hand and helped her out of her hiding space, bringing her into the open so she could see the looks of confusion written on the faces of the few people backstage and he introduced her to Tony Khan " you ready for the fallout" Nova questioned her best friend who nodded, knowing that when it came to the fallout, he would always have the younger Rhodes back after everything they had put her through. Not many people knew the state Novalee was in when she was pretty much ostracised from her family, it was only luck that Kota, Tama, Tyson and The Bucks ever met her, but ever since that day he promised her that no matter what, he would be the brother she needed whenever she needed and now was no different.

Before the bell could ring and signal the start of the match, out of nowhere smoke started to fill the stage around the black gothic throne that was sitting on the stage that had confused both competors as they came out to the ring and the titantron had a video of black feathers falling. Everyone in the arena, both inside and outside of the ring felt a cold chill go up their spines including Cody who had gotten himself psyched up to defend his title. Annoyed at what was happening and the lack of knowledge that he had, Cody turned around the 'the nightmare family' and asked the as a whole "what's going on", a look of confusion over their faces at the weird segment as Allie stated after Brandi looked at her, still unsure of her " its nothing to do with me I swear to you" . As the confusion and annoyance of the champ rose, he was made even more irate as out of nowhere, his "Epic Prelude" music began blaring out again. As this was happening out in the ring, backstage Tyson and The Bucks had helped Nova get ready to go out and had made sure her cape way out of the way. Seeing her brother getting visabley angry made Nova smile an evil smirk, a smirk of almost success over her brothers meltdown. Just before she walked out however, she heard Tyson say two words at that point that helped fuel her more "Go Moondust" and that was it, Clemmie Rose was ready to make an appearance. As the choir picked up more on her brothers "Epic Prelude", Clemmie Rose walked out of the increasing cloud of smoke, holding her cape in her hands, a look of seduction on her face. The cameras quickly picked up on her appearance, as did Allie, who got Brandi's attention, who in turn got everyone else's as they stared at the masked woman who was very quickly making her presence known, "Ladies and gentleman, the uneasiness you are feeling at home at the sight of the woman is nothing in comparison to the air of dread being felt here" Taz said and JR added "Just look in and around the ring, the appearance of this mysterious entity has shook up everyone". As the camera zoomed onto Clemmie's now black contact filled eyes and face as she sat down, the evil smirk became more prominent witnessing her brothers confusion, " those eyes are the eyes of evil" Tony said, trying to work out why the eyes seemed so familiar, "this woman definitely has some kind of interest in this match that is for sure, she is almost fixated" JR said as the camera went back to Cody, looking somewhat nervous like he was going to get jumped. As everyone got out of the ring, and walked past the throne, eyeing up this beguiling woman who sat there, the purple haired beauty ignored each one of them and kept her eyes on the ring and in particular Cody. As the bell rung, JR added, trying to explain the uncomfortableness everyone was feeling "None of the nightmare family have any idea who this is, no one in daily's place have any idea who this is. Folks normally we have some idea, we are as lost as all of you"

As the bell rung signalling the end of the match, Nova took a deep breath and beckoned a stage hand to get her the mic waiting for her backstage as Brandi and Arn got into the ring to congratulate Cody, who's eyes are still on the Mysterious woman in the throne. Now with a mic in hand, she heard JR say "it looks like the mysterious beauty who has been fixated on this match wants to say something" as Taz added " whoever this is, I dont think I have ever seen the nightmare family look this rattled, it shocking". As the purple haired beauty took a breath, she was finally ready to start talking, but at the commentary table, a lightbulb went off in the head of Tony after racking his brains all throughout the match, and he muttered in shock off mic "oh my god.....Nova?" Also off mic, both JR and Taz looked at him, shocked at what he had said and replied "as in Novalee Runnels" and then looked at the changes "Dusty's baby girl" had gone through. As Nova started to walk down to the ring, she began talking, trying to disguise her voice a little " bravo Cody on another well fought match and title defence, I'm throughly impressed....... that even now you are as much of a big headed ass as you were all those years ago". As Nova got into the ring, Brandi walked over to try and get into Nova's face and intimidate her, which resulted in the masked woman looking at her sister in law with a slight crazed look in her eye and replied, calmily "I really urge you to rethink whatever it is going through that apparant pretty head of yours Brandi, before you live to regret it". After the three men in the ring had finally managed to back the woman up and away from the woman in the ring with them, Cody took a mic from a worker and asked, still confused and angry" so, what are you?, who are you? a challenger......". As soon as he said that, Clemmie let out a screech of laughter that made everyone cover their ears "this woman is as evil as she looks Tony" Taz said, still slightly in shock, like the other two men sitting with him, looking at the changes the little girl they once knew like the two men had gone through both physically and emotionally it seemed. After staring at her brother for a couple of seconds, her black eyes almost baring into his soul (which made the champ extremely uncomfortable), she tilted her head with a small smirk on her face and replied, like the last second or so hadn't happened " However tempting that may be, not on your cold, dead body. But, I have been sent by someone and they really want to talk to you".

(Skip to 0:59 on the video of Brodie challenging for the TNT title, I don’t know if the link will work)

"But the question still remains on your lips, I can sense it. You are wondering, who is that beautiful, mistress of anguish and torment I sent tonight that is standing opposite you Cody. The woman who persuaded me to challenge you and told me all of your secrets and failings. Please continue sweet angel, I know you have a lot more to say". As the titantron went back to normal, Cody looked over at the woman in front of him in confusion as the silence was deafening "this woman is the epitome of evil, what has she got to do with dark order" Taz wondered "I don't know, but whatever it is, it cant be good" Tony chimed in. As the camera went back to the face of Nova, everyone could see the sick smile on her face had gone and was replaced by a look no one could put the finger on as she said, while staring at her brother, venom in her words and ice in her eyes " you preach to everyone about how the word family means everything to the great Cody, well I know different. I know and you know, that if any member of your 'family' go against the great Cody's word and teachings, that he has no problem whatsoever slapping them down and embarrassing them so that they tow the line and the 'prince of wrestling' looks great". As she froze for a minute, she looked around to see the confusion on the faces of every person in the arena which makes her feel happy inside, "What about those ones that go through everything you put them through, the put downs, the slaps and still dont follow the great leader, what happens to them Cody? We both know, dont we ." As Novalee paused and walked over to the corner of the ring to take off her cape and her mask, she felt the stares from her family and godfather, the confusion and the nervousness radiating from them and it invigorated her . As she took off her mask, she heard Brandi say "I dont know who you think you are......", and as Novalee heard that, she bent down to pick her mic back up, smiling to herself before replying " Brandi, Brandi, Brandi. We both know that's lies. You know who I am. I'm your worst nightmare, the shadow you see out the corner of your eye, the monster from under your bed". Hearing the wolf whistles from the 'heel' wrestlers, Novalee turned around slowly and moved her hair away from her face and for the first time since that day, she made eye contact with her brother, Cody fell to the mat in shock as Brandi and Arn were frozen in shock. The arena let out a collective gasp, knowing exactly who the woman was as JR yelled "that's...... that's Clemmie Rose, the Dark Angel of Death..... she's working with the dark order" " she's a Runnels, why would she do this to her family" Taz responded, all three of the commentary team trying to stay as much in character as possible while Tony stayed silent, knowing the history between Nova and her family.

The shot quickly went back to Cody, who is visbley crying as Clemmie said, bending down to another wolf whistle "you look like you have seen a ghost Hermano mayor, although im not surprised you dont recognise me, I have changed a lot since you last saw me. Getting up, she continued, "You see ever since AEW began, I have been watching you and your "nightmare" family from the shadows, plotting against you, picking the exact moment to make my presence know Then when Mr Brodie Lee found me lost and alone, he gave me an offer that I couldnt refuse........ and that offer big brother? A chance to sit front and centre at the execution of the executive's kingdom. Before I go though, Prince of wrestling, I have a question for you. You make out you are this amazing person, what if I was to take that mask away and seized that dark, evil soul of yours, you know that one no one but the Runnels family know about, would you be ready?" And with that, she kicked Cody between the legs, the spikes on her shoes she had added, providing some extra help in really bringing her point home and then she set her eyes on Brandi, bicycle kicking her in the face before grabbing her by the hair and getting her into a chokehold, making sure she put added pressure on her " bionic shoulder". Once she could feel her sister in law was out,and the refs had finally managed to pull her from Brandi, she crawled over to her brother, who had tears in and streaming down his face and grabbed her mic, as he did, she noticed the members of the dark order come out onto the stage, minus Colt and looked into her brothers eyes and said, calm as anything "you destroyed me that day Cody. Now, now its my turn, to pour gasoline over your beloved kingdom and watch it burn" and she let out another scream and ear splitting laugh and got up , picking up her crown,and walked out of the ring to join the dark order where they were standing. As she turned around, Stu Grayson helped her put the cape back on she hadn't realised he had picked up for her and walked away, proud of her destruction, " well....we are all still in shock at what we have just witnessed in that ring. An almost family reunion of sorts that quickly became evil and twisted in the blink of an eye" Jr expressed still shocked as Taz added " the air is still thick with the debut of the Dark Angel of Death, Clemmie Rose and we have just been told by Tony khan himself that on the next dynamite, Clemmie Rose will be explaining herself and her actions to the world" as the shot went to the nightmare family helping the fallen comrades out of the arena, tears still in Cody's eyes.


	4. The Fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Clemmie-Rose’s debut was something for the books, but the fallout behind the scenes will be something else. How are the Rhodes going to handle with seeing their long lost sister.

As she walked backstage with her head held high, Nova noticed the look of shock on the faces of both wrestlers and workers alike at her debut which made Nova grin like the cat that had got the cream, her anxiety of seeing her brothers after so long eradicated. Taking her cape off and taking a swig of water she had left purposely with a worker, she suddenly heard “ well,well,well. You certainly got your point across didnt you” which made her turn around and come face to face with the looming and some would say terrifying figure of Mr Brodie Lee himself, who put a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her “ Thought I would start as I Mean to go on. Before I forget though, thank you for even suggesting this to Tyson. I dont know if I could cope with seeing them without any kind of backup”. As he looked at the young woman in front of him, he saw something in her that not many did, her vulnerability and it broke his heart a little, knowing only a small bit of what she had gone through on her own and it made him want to protect her more than he thought. Smiling at the woman in front of him, he replied “ you could little angel. You have more strength than you think. I have watched a few of your matches, your dad would be proud of you and your strength, id even go as far as too say you are better than your brother.” After a couple of seconds of silence, Nova heard a french twang of an accent ask her “are you okay? You have been through hell tonight”and as she turned around to see who had asked her the question no one had asked her in a long time, she made eye contact with the man who asked and its was like everything stopped for a couple of seconds as soon as they made eye contact. Snapping herself out of her trance, her eyesight was diverted to behind him and to the incoming tornado that was her family walking over to her, “oh fantastic” she groaned as the men surrounded her and evil uno stated “we will protect you little angel” which put a smile on the purple haired woman’s face that finally she had people to back her up when she needed it. As Dustin walked over to the group, the tears in his eyes were noticeable as he stared at the face of the girl, now woman he thought he would never see again after that day and said, dumbfounded and still in shock “Lee? Is it actually you? I cant believe it’s actually you. You look so grown up and different” “so would you if you had to grow up quicker than you should’ve done” Nova heard Brodie say as he put his arm around the newest member of his faction in both a leader and brotherly capacity, a feeling that Nova wasnt used to,but hated to admit was a felling she had truly missed. 

Looking at her oldest brother getting more and more irate at what was happening in front of him, she looked over at Cody’s still shocked expression out the corner of her eye as she heard Dustin warn the man acting more like a brother to Nova than her own brothers had done in years “get your hands of my sister Lee, I wont warn you again”. Seeing his brother getting angry, Cody seemed to snap out of the shock he was in and he walked over to where his sister and brother were having an intense face off. Seeing her brother and sister in law coming over, their faces still showing their shock ,Nova feeling stronger than she had done in years, replied back to her oldest brother, coldly which shocked Dustin who was innocently, some would say stupidly hoping that she was still that young kid who was his shadow all those years ago “ Funny I’m your sister now Dust, seeing as I have proved you all wrong and actually made it on my own. As your brother stated that day, I am not a Runnels or a Rhodes and If I say so myself, I have done pretty damm well for myself not being one”. Hearing about enough, Brandi walked forward and squared up to the purple haired woman, angry that her sister in law was back in the lives of the Runnels family after everything she had put them through since that day and the pain she had caused her brothers and sisters “ Are you being serious Novalee” she deadpanned as Dustin added, backing off Brandi, worried they were going to lose the youngest Runnels sibling again “we were all hurt Novie. Cody didnt mean what he said, we have missed you so much. We tried looking for you, we couldnt find you anywhere. Where did you go.....”. Listening to her oldest brother, the man she once saw as her hero, spout more lies to make him and them feel better just made Nova go from aggravated to furious as she bit back, unable to listen to anymore “I was 18 Dustin......18!, are you forgetting I was there. I was there when I saw the hate in his eyes and felt the slap around my face. Are you forgetting dear big brother, how you stood by and did nothing. I had to move on and change because I HAD NO OTHER CHOICE. I had to change so that I could survive on my own. Even after everything he has done, still he stands there like the petulant boy he once was and wants sympathy and I’m sorry but he isnt getting it from me, none of you are. Dont act like I am stupid or that you are this amazing and caring big brother, if you looked for me, you would’ve found me quite easily those first few months, I was living 10 minutes away from you”. Feeling the tears threatening to spill from her eyes and not wanting them to see they were affecting her, Nova turned to the Man who had taken her breath away what felt like an eternity ago, the man she later learnt to be Stu Grayson, Marc outside of the ring and for some reason trusting him she asked him in a whisper “can you get me out of here” to which he simply nodded and put his arm around the woman and walked her towards her locker room, members of the dark order stopping Dustin from following her as they heard Brandi shout “this isnt over Novalee, not by a long shot” “I wouldn’t expect anything less Brandi” Novalee yelled back, knowing the issues they had going. wasn’t going to be resolved in a normal way a family feud would... they were Runnels after all, one things they didnt do was normal. 

As they got closer to the Purple haired woman’s dressing room, Nova heard the man she was seeing as her saviour for getting her away from her family ask, concern obvious in his voice “are you sure you are okay? If you need to talk.....” “ thank you I really appreciate it. Right now however, I just want to get going if I’m honest. Start the drive back so I can mope and eat my weight in ice cream” Nova replied, fighting the need to break down and cry as they walked into her dressing room. After the number of years she had spent going between indie shows and working all the hours god sent to put food on her table and basically live, Nova had got into the habit of packing up and leaving clothes out she could wear over her ring gear after an appearance or a match and this time was no different, so she simply slipped on her hoodie and some baggy sweatpants and quickly changed her shoes to some Jordans while Marc helped her out by putting her cape back in its bag. As she slid on her sweatpants, she heard the man ask her as she leant down to pick her shoes up “do you live close? I dont like the thought of a beautiful lady driving on her own upset?” and Nova smilled as she replied “somewhat close, ill be fine, I have been for this long, but if it makes you feel any better pass me your cell”. After she took his phone and typed something in, she passed it back to him by sliding it into his pocket and replied “ you can ring to check on me if that makes you feel any better”. Getting the last of her bits together and packed up, Nova felt herself becoming very quiet as she felt her adrenaline disolvr and it was something that Marc picked up on as she heard him ask her “ are you sure you are okay cherie? You seem very distant”. Hearing this, Nova looked at him in shock, bar one person, no one had ever picked up on her ups and downs so quickly and more than that, actually cared about how she was feeling and it knocked her for six. As the last little bit of adrenaline disappeared , the feeling of being vulnerable came back and however hard she fought with herself, she couldnt hide it anymore, looking at him, Nova simply shook her head and broke down crying and the French Canadian quickly pulled her into a hug and soothed her “”its ok cherie, let it out”. After a couple of minutes, Nova wiped her eyes and apologised for breaking down, embarrassed thats he had let herself to which he replied, wiping her mascara stained cheeks and under eyes with the pads of his thumbs “you have been through hell Novalee, you dont need to nor do you have anything to apologise for. I can tell you one thing for sure though, Your not alone anymore though. I know you don’t know me or any of the dark order very well but I promise you, you dont have to put a mask on around me or anyone else. I’m going to drive you home.. no excuses. Let someone take care of you for a little bit, okay?” Nova simply nodded, not trusting her voice as he took the bags and added “I need to get my stuff and shower, then we will go okay?”and with that he opened the door and they both walked out. 

As they walked to the Dark Order’s dressing room, Marc thankfully helping her with her bags, Nova suddenly heard out of nowhere a voice that she truly never thought that she would hear again shout “Auntie Star?”. Gobsmacked, she turned around and as she did, she was engulfed in a bone breaking hug by her niece Dakota who was crying. Prying her niece’s death grip from her after Marc had grabbed hold of the bag holding her cape in it, Nova looked at the now woman in front of her and joked as she wiped her eyes “Blimey squirt. You look like your momma”, but before she could day anything else, she noticed that Dakota was wearing the necklace that she had brought for her a couple of weeks before she was ostrised and added, surprised “ you still have your necklace?” “I haven’t taken it off” Dakota replied with a sniff. Noticing her niece was crying again, Nova felt her heart break all over again as she heard Dakota state “I’ve missed you Auntie Star” and with tears in her voice, Nova replied “ I have missed you too Kots....so much. Pass me your phone” and taking her nieces phone from her, she quickly typed her number in and as she passed it back to her, she stated sternly to her niece “ I am trusting you not to share this Kots okay. I dont want any of the family having it” and she touched her cheek and added “you ring whenever you wanna talk okay. We will sort you coming round and visiting me” and Dakota nodded and replied “I’ll keep it to myself and I will ring later if that is okay” and she gave her auntie another hug and Nova kissed her forehead and they walked off in different directions. As they carried on walking, Nova looked at Marc and wondered why it was that this man that she had literally only just met a hour or so if that was making her feel so safe and secure.

When they eventually got to the Dark orders dressing room / clubhouse, Marc made sure he knocked loudly before bringing in the newest member and after he had let them know that she was with him, they both walked in, As soon as she did, Nova made eye contact with Mr Boom Boom himself,who pulled her into a socially distance hug and joked while looking her up and down, a gesture that was making the Bald man feel more and more angry “well Miss Novie, look at you. Where’s that innocent flower gone that I met all those years ago” and as they both laughed Marc whispered loudly to nova, putting a hand on her shoulder “I wont be too long” to which Nova simply nodded, smiling as she watched him walk away, a feeling washing over her that she hadn’t felt for a while. Turning back to Scott, Nova replied “ I thought I’d try something different, plus thats face it, the whole innocent, doe eyed princess thing was never really me was it. Evil queen is more my aesthetic”. As she sat down, after everyone had made a chance to introduce themselves, a part of Nova began feeling really uncomfortable and socially awkward, something that only since she had been thrown away had really made itself more obvious. After a few seconds, Nova was snapped out of her spiralling when suddenly a smiling woman sat next to her and introduced herself as Anna and stated “ It’s so amazing to meet you. Ive seen a few of your matches and you are amazing and such a badass. You seem so much more level headed then certain other people I could name as well”. Sensing the woman’s nervousness, and remembering what her father had said to her all those years ago about kindness and Paying it forward, she smiled at the nervous woman and replied, all the while trying to calm the nerves of the woman sat by her “dont think of me as a Rhodes or a Runnels firstly, there’s no need to be nervous around me I’m not royalty, even if my brother seems to think he is, I’m just the same as you. Secondly, thank you, I could say the same about you, you have a natural talent. If you ever need or want a training partner, hit me up, I am always up for training with a woman, training with guys isnt all its cracked up to be, I should know”. As she took the younger woman’s phone and typed her number in, she heard Anna say, this time sounding a little bit less nervous and more normal, if that was a thing within their business “ are you sure? Thank you so much” “No problem, you were trained by Marshall right? I’m guessing the heel training was very basic for women if I remember right from what I have been told. I dont know much, but I can teach you everything I know If that would be handy for you as well” which made the woman nod, knowing and seeing how much of a heel the woman beside her was, she knew she would be the best person to learn a few tips and tricks from. Between talking and getting to know Anna for about 10 minutes and John trying his best to flirt with the woman and getting absolutely nowhere and a punch in the dick from the woman, Nova was starting to let the real her out without the fear of judgement and she loved it. After another few minutes, out the corner of her eye, Nova saw Marc come back into the room looking completely different, which made Novas breath hitch in her throat, something which Anna picked up on and whispered in her ear, joking “ Breathe Woman plus put your tongue back in. Those sweatpants look a fortune, you dont wanna ruin them with your drool” which made her smile and instantly know that the two of them were going to become firm friends. 

As Marc put their bags together, he looked at the purple haired vixen and smiled before asking her “are you ready to go?” to which Nova replied with a simple smile and nodded as Uno looked at his tag team partner confused and asked him “everything okay?” “Yeah I am just going to drive Novalee home, make sure she gets there safe with everything thats happened tonight” “such a gentleman” they all heard Alan Angels joke, which resulted in him getting a smack over the head with a bunch of papers by Brodie as he asked her “ are you sure your okay little angel. You have been through a lot tonight, its okay not to be” to which Nova replied with a smile “I’m okay, I’m stronger than a lot of people give me credit for” she replied, all while trying to make sure her invisible mask was firmly secured, after one person seeing her let it drop, she didnt want anyone else seeing or knowing how she was feeling. As he looked at her, he sighed before stating “ I’m a father Novalee, I can tell when someone is lying. I know you have had to rely on yourself for the longest time but you don’t have to anymore. We are family and Dark Order or not, you can rely on us. When I spoke to Tyson, he gave me a small rundown of everything to help give me some context for my promo. Just know you don’t have to worry about the fallout on your own, one of us will always be there for you”. Hearing someone actually care about her made Nova speechless,and being unable to speak or even trust her own voice she simply nodded and with tears in her eyes she got up and left the room, Marc not far behind her. As the door closed, Uno turned to the leader and said to Brodie, concerned about the woman “anyone would think that they would of been proud of her for doing it her own way” “you’d think so, but you know the saying, God help anyone who dared to disrespect the queen. They’re gonna pay for the pain they have caused her.” 

Meanwhile, the Rhodes family, Bar Dakota who was currently texting her long lost Auntie, were losing their minds at the arrival of the youngest Rhodes after so many years “why.... WHY was I not told she was here, yet alone joining the company? I’m a EVP in this company too, I had a damm right” Cody screamed “she wanted to keep it to as few people as possible Cody, I didnt even know she was here until I overheard Nick mention her name” Tyson yelled back “and besides, If she isnt a threat to you, why are you so concerned” “ she has the ability and now the power behind her to burn everything we have worked for into the ground. DId you not hear what she said in that ring?” Cody stated and Tyson replied “she actually said it was your kingdom she wanted to burn, not the company” “ Not helping” Matt interjected looking at the youngest son of the dream. Trying to calm a potentially explosive situation, Nick interjected and said “ look, Nova isnt interested in doing anything to the company, she is actually a big supporter in what......” and before he could say anything, Brandi cut him off and added “so you two knew too, I can understand knowing my dear sister in law her getting her claws into and way with Tyson, but you two are married... with kids”. Hearing how Brandi was talking about the young woman angered not only the bucks but Tyson as well and he stated calmly but with a sense of firmness in his voice “ if the pair of you are going to be acting like this, I am not going to stand here and listen. Yes we knew , but you aren’t going to punish her or us..... this is all your fuck up Cody, but I tell you something, from the few matches of hers I have managed to watch quickly, I’d be damm proud having her as a sister” and with that he walked out with Matt and Nick said to Dustin “if you were any kind of brother, you would be standing up for her like you should of done that day. We brought her here because shes not just good, she is badass” and with that he followed Tyson and his brother, leaving the Rhodes/Runnels family to think about everything. 

As Nova got into her truck, Marc said to her as she typed into her sat nav the address of her house so that Marc could follow it “ why do I feel that you being here is going to cause a ripple effect noticeable from mars” to which Novalee laughed and replied, sitting back “more like a high ass wild fire”.


	5. A Light Among The Darkness?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marc and Nova start to get to open up to each other on the ride back to her house. Will sparks start becoming fireworks as the youngest Runnels opens up doors she never has before.
> 
> It is a long one, but I really wanted to try and get some history of Nova/ Clemmie’s origins written up.

As the drive went on, Nova and Marc were learning a lot about each other and were quickly showing each other sides of their personalities not many had seen, but as they spoke, there was still a subject Marc wanted to bring up, but he didn't know how to approach such a hard subject , however Nova being Nova picked up on the slight atmosphere surprisingly quickly and said to him, sipping her water, knowing exactly what his question was that he wanted to ask " you can ask you know, I'm not gonna bite your head off, you wouldnt be the only person to ask me ". In shock, he looked over at the beauty sitting with him out of the corner of his eye and smiled before asking "what happened to make you take this path? Stuff I have read, you were Dusty's princess", Nova sighed and replied, fighting back the tears thinking about her dad " I always wanted to be like him, the wrestler he was, the mentor he was to people, he was my idol, still is to this day. I was young when Cody got signed, I remember i'd watched him and Dustin from home and knew what they were doing was what I wanted to do, I wanted to follow in my dads footsteps. As I got older and the longer they were there , it just seemed like the Rhodes/Runnels name was seen less as a legacy and more of a joke if that makes any sense" to which Marc nodded, thinking about Cody and his Stardust character while following the Sat Nav and getting concerned about where this woman was living. Still confused, he then asked "so if you were the princess, how did you even get trained by anyone other the legends that would've been around you growing up. The connections your family has, I would of thought you would've had your pick". Feeling herself feeling emotions she hadn't thought in a while, she replied, while looking out the window trying to fight back emotions "I was sneaky, I didnt want the special handouts because I was a Rhodes or a Runnels. No one knew I was training, they thought I was going on night outs, or attending camps for one of the many activities Cody had persuaded my dad to make me do to get me away from his precious sport, Swimming, Gymnastics, Dance I did them all, but I still wanted to be in the ring competing with a passion. They didnt find out until about a year into my training where it was I was actually going. I would get in my car or a Friday night and drive out of state, sofa surf, train and then come back on a Sunday evening. I should be greatful to Cody really, If I didnt have constant practise for sports teams , I wouldnt of had an excuse for where I was going. It wasnt until Uncle Martin Visted the school, that the shit hit the fan and everyone found out.

***FLASHBACK***

Sneaking through the door, back from another weekend of training, Nova was thankful that everyone seemed to be in bed, albeit earlier than normal. As the feeling of smugness washed over her that she had gotten away with her secret again, Nova slowly started making her way upstairs to get into bed, tired from the drive and training . As she got halfway up the stairs, suddenly the light in the lounge area turned on, and there stood her parents, plus Cody and her Uncle Martin, the looks on their faces were enough to send the most Vicious of dogs into retreat. Trying to feign innocence, Nova walked in and focused on her dad, knowing he was going to be her best bet in getting away with it and she said, as sweetly as she possibly could, pulling all of her 'daddy's baby girl, moves out of her arsenal, knowing she was his princess and she could get away with murder "Daddy, you scared me, I thought everyone was in bed,you look tired. Uncle Martin.. what a surprise I thought you were out of town. Well, that drive has exhausted me, I am going to bed. Early start, Ill see you bright and early" and with that, she gave her dad a kiss on the cheek before attempting to walk away. As she walked away, hoping she had gotten away with it again, she suddenly heard her mother say, the Cuban in her coming out (which was always a bad sign Nova had learnt very early on in life) " Novalee Matilde Runnels, you stay exactly where you are", the tone of her voice alone, frezzing Nova to the spot. As she turned around, she heard her godfather start to talk "so an interesting thing happened today, I was seeing an old friend at a school just out of state, and he mentioned to me a Brunette girl he was training that I needed to see. Thought she had the potential to make it to the top of the big leagues, had a natural talent for the sport apparently". Hearing this,the baby Runnels could've sworn she felt the colour from her face drain "shit" Nova thought to herself, all the while trying to keep a neutral look on her face as he continued "so I thought id see for myself, as normally this friend is never wrong and you can imagine my shock when I see from a distance, my own goddaughter inside a wrestling ring, training with not only women but with men double her size. Can you imagine my embarrassment, luckily for you I covered for you and no one knows who you actually are.... yet". SIghing a breath of relief at that piece of information , Nova looked at both her godfather and her parents all the while noticing her big brother getting more and more irate by the Second, something that was making Nova happy and stated, still focusing on her father "I can explain" to which her godfather replied with a look on his face Nova was more afraid of then her mothers angry latina side and that was saying Something " I think you need to little girl". As the brunette woman took a breath ready to put her side across, she saw her brother step forward , with the same petulant look on his face he had always had and a look Novalee was greatful she hadn't inherited and say furiously " why do you have to do this Novalee, why must you make everything about you all of the time. Me and Dustin are following in Dads footsteps, Why cant you just for once accept your place in the family and not make everything a Nova sized drama. Why dont you stick to the Sports dad has put thousands of dollars into that your good at , like your dance or gymnastics and leave wrestling to us and let dad's sons make him proud ". Before anyone could say anything else, Nova bit back at her brothers egotistical and in her opinion down right sexist views and replied, her anger brewing faster than a kettle at the boil " whats the matter Cody? Is the joke of wrestling worried that his baby sister might actually be better than him. Why dont you bite me Cody. I am doing this on my own and I am good, really good, Uncle Martin has seen me obviously he can vouch for me. I am sorry I lied to you all and I am sorry that I am not doing things the way you obviously want me to but I am training, with or without your approval". As she ran upstairs, she heard her father call after her and Cody yelled back " the hell you are Novalee, get back down here , we aren't finished" "come la polla de burro, imbécil petulante" "You watch your language "she heard her mother yell after her before she slammed the door.

***FLASHBACK ENDED***

As she finished telling the man driving her home the story, she could see a small smirk on his face as he responded visably proud of her for sticking up for herself against the man who he was increasingly becoming more and more angry at the man for treating this amazing woman the way that he had "well shit, remind me never to piss you off, I can't believe he was as much of an ass then as he is now" which made Nova laugh, a sound that made Marc smile and his heart beat out of his chest as she added "me and him have never really got on, sad thing is I dont think we ever really will. Growing up, he wanted to be the apple of my fathers eye, the one everyone though of as being ' Dusty's baby boy'., the pro wrestling prodigee. When our mom fell pregnant with me, I wasnt planned and his nose was put out of joint 10 fold . I ruined everything for him and he made sure I knew it". As they sat in silence, Nova signed as she looked out of the window, she couldn't help but wonder if they would ever get on or why it was her brother hated her so much. As they drove, Marc picked up on a change in the atmosphere and as he reached across, not sure if he was even doing the right thing, he squezzed her hand which shook the woman he was quickly falling for out of her self loathing. Carrying on she added with a small Smile on her face, "I always remember the day I told my dad about my character ideas and how I wanted to do it all on my own terms. My anxiety was through the roof but that day, he was the proudest he had ever been of me, and I miss that. I suppose in a way that is what made it so difficult at the time, them chucking me away so quickly after his death, because if hadn't of been okay with any of it, I would of knocked it on the head in a heartbeat, if anything he was my biggest support"

****FLASHBACK ****

As she climbed up the last few steps, Nova felt sick to the deepest depths of her stomach, this was going to go one of two ways and she really hoped it wasnt going to be the latter. Feeling her hands shake, the brunette took a deep breath before knocking on the door, instantly hearing her father yell to whoever it was knocking to come in. Poking her head around the door, she saw him smile as she asked him sweetly "Daddy, I know you are probably really busy, but I wondered if I could speak to you for a minute please" "of course Moondust, you dont ever have to ask. Come and sit down" she heard her father reply , the smile on his face a smile that she had inherited from him. As she shut the big wooden door to her fathers office, she sat on the chair next to him, her anxiety through the roof, something her father had instantly picked up on. Taking her shaking hands into his bear like paws, he asked her calmly , worried about whatever the situation was that was making his baby girl so scared and anxious " Nova, what's wrong? Your not pregnant are you?" "No Daddy. You know you raised me better than that. I have been working and training reallly hard lately and I have begun thinking and working on character ideas and development and I...... " "its okay Lee-Lee you can tell me. When have you not been able to tell your old pops anything" her father asked, squeezing her hand in his and Nova replied with the equivalent of word diarrhoea "I dont want to be known as a Runnels or as a Rhodes Pops, I wanna make my career mine from my own hard work and determination, I dont want to be handed jobs or titles because of who we are. I know its a tradition we all follow but...." feeling an anxiety attack starting, Nova had to stop before she exploded. Knowing his daughter like the back of his hand and knowing her secret struggle with anxiety that no one bar him knew about after witnessing her have a full blown attack after yet another argument with her brother at a competition when she was 13 which resulted in her telling him everything she was dealing with , Dusty took both her hand in his and pulled her into a fatherly hug, the same he did whenever he had witnessed one of her anxiety attacks, knowing it would instantly calm her down. As he hugged her and played with her hair, he declared to his daughter, hoping it would put her mind at ease " Novie, I will admit, I was surprised when you said you wanted to follow the path that I did and not in your dancing or your gymnastics, but I will tell you something now, to see all of my children succeed in life is the only thing I have ever wanted. I dont care if you use the Rhodes name, The Runnels name or neither, as long as you are happy my sweet girl, that is all that matters, and I can see a shine in those baby blues I have never seen before in any of the other sports you used to do, you are destined". Pulling her away from his embrace, he wiped her eyes and Nova asked as she sniffed, "what about Dustin and Cody though Pops, they are going to be mad especially Cody he isnt exactly happy about me training as it is, to put this pipebomb on top of everything else". Smiling at his daughter, proud of the young woman he had raised, the Dream replied " thats your problem Moondust, you have always put them and others and how they will react above your own happiness. Let me worry about your brothers, they are big enough and ugly enough to get over it besides , what they dont know wont harm them. Now, run your old man through some of these ideas of yours that see if I can help make them any better"

**FLASHBACK ENDED**

As Nova wiped her eyes at the thought of her fathers words and the embrace she missed more than anything else in the world , she sniffed and felt the hand in hers, squeeze it again. Sniffing again as she wiped her eyes with the free hand she joked "I have only ever told a couple of people those stories. You my friend, have a gift" to which the man laughed slightly, his mood however quickly changing as he pulled into her living area and he asked her, even more concerned about the woman that he was enthralled with " Novalee, please don't tell me this is where you live. It just looks like an unsafe bunch of old, disused warehouses" "it was all I could afford at the time, besides it's not as bad as it was, at least I have heating and a decent bed now which is always a bonus. Between me and some friends who helped out, I have managed to make it look more like a home and less like a craphole and that's saying something as it was at one point, a literal craphole " Nova replied, hating the fact that not only had she just admitted to someone she had just met that she had to rely on people to help her, but that she had got so low that she was homeless, squatting in a run down warehouse. As they pulled up to her place, she heard the man beside her gasp, out of either astonishment or shock, Nova wasnt quite sure and didnt really want to ask,, her anxiety through the roof. After a couple of seconds, the shock was replaced with the man beside her stating " Novalee this is...... wow" "you can come in if you want to, the dogs are always up for meeting new people, well one of them at least " she jokingly replied as she got out,shutting the door behind her. As Marc looked at the surrounding areas and then back at the building in front of him, he didnt know everything, he knew that and he knew there was more to the evil vixen he was falling for, but there was one thing he knew, no matter what, he was going to make sure that she was going to be safe. 

As they both got to the front door, Marc who was still both concerned and nervous about her surroundings and where she was living said protectively as he looked around "I will grab the suitcases from the trunk in a minute, I just want to make sure your safely inside ", which made Nova smile to herself at his protective side as she replied while she put her key in the door "I haven't been jumped yet you know, you dont have to be concerned, besides even if I was, I'm not as weak as people think, I can hold my own" which made the man smile as he replied "Im sure you could Belle fille, but what kind of gentleman would I be if I didnt protect a beautiful woman, regardless of how elle est dure et dure". As soon as she had opened the door, both Marc and Nova were ambushed by two smal barrels of fluff that had appeared out of nowhere,excited to see their human. Trying to calm them, she said "cálmate cachorros, sé que los he extrañado a los dos también" which instantly calmed them down, "I didnt know you could speak Spanish" Marc stated, gobsmacked at how beautiful the language sounded coming from the woman's mouth " you never asked" she joked before adding " you pick it up when you are around relatives. After I had come back from Cuba and I had some money coming in from working, I taught myself More to keep myself busy and awake on the rougher nights when this place was worse than the streets. You can come further in you know, they wont bite. They dont have that many brain cells to think about attacking anyone". 

As he walked in, he saw her interact with the animals, her eyes shining as she did, almost like she was still 'dusty's princess' instead of this seductive, evil Queen she had turned into. Watching her more, Marc started to feel his heart race as he felt himself falling hard for her. As someone that seems so broken and evil to people , he saw something else, she brought a brightness to his dark heart that normally he would of hated and kept away from at all costs, but with her it was different and he didnt know why. As he watched her for a bit longer, he got snapped out of his thoughts when he felt a wet nose burrow its way into his hand, looking down he saw the face of one of the two dogs who was now completely calm, looking up at him like she wanted love. As he played with her ears and stroked her, he heard a gasp and looking up he noticed the shock written on Nova's face " What? She's not gonna bite my hand off is she?" He joked while still playing and stroking the puppy and Nova responded stuttering, something that Marc found cute "how..... how. Sorry, shes called Lola and this one is called Luna, I'm just in shock she is never like that with anyone apart from me & their sitter " "like what? " he asked as the dog who he had been fusing over, jumped onto his lap as he sat down, shocking her owner more " she normally hates people.... shes her mommas girl" " Maybe she is picking up on something we aren't" he stated simply as Nova smiled and replied, her heart pounding out of her chest " Do you want a drink or are you getting picked up. I don't wanna keep you if you had plans" " I dont need to be anywhere. Like I said, someone is going to look after you for a while" he replied, smiling at the young woman he was finding himself falling for as Lola snuggled into him and watched her owner come in with two drinks and sit on the opposite side, all the while they laughed as they watch Luna running around with an old shoe.

Meanwhile, the Runnels family were stil dealing with the shock of seeing what their baby sibling had turned into after all the years she had been missing and out of them all, it was hitting Dustin the most. As he watched both his brother and sister in law still going on about wanting answers and how she was going to ruin everything they'd been working towards, he was struggling with the guilt he had about how much she had changed because of them and what they did that day. Growing up, Novalee wasn't just the apple of her fathers eye, she was also Dustin's favourite shadow , bar his daughter and now step children. Anywhere he went when he visited her or visa versa, there was a pretty damm high chance that Nova would be with him, staring at him with admiration. She was such a sweet, down to earth, funny, caring young girl/young teenager, someone his daughter had not only practically grown up with but had idolised, however for all her posistives, Nova was the most stubborn out of all of the Siblings too, which was one of the main reasons in Dustin's eyes why her and Cody never got on. Thinking back to that young woman and seeing now what she had become, this cold hearted, nasty almost evil soul, it broke the oldest Runnels heart into pieces. As his mind wondered, he start to wonder weather this change had been caused by more than what happened that day. Ever since that day, the picture of her begging eyes had bored into his soul everytime he shut his eyes or even thought about her. He knew he should've stuck up for her when everything went down and after seeing her today, it scared him to death that the side of her that he had missed was truly gone, especially if she was working with The Dark Order. As he looked up, he saw everyone staring at him and he quickly painted a smile on his face as he heard Cody state "earth to Dustin, did you just hear anything I just said?'

As the night went on, the feelings that both Nova and Marc were feeling for each other were getting stronger and they could both feel it. As he sat closer to her, he stated while running his fingers through her hair "you know, there's something about you I cant put my finger on. Your bilingual, stunning, Not an ass like your brothers, your Badass in the ring, amazing with animals, tough. You have to have a flaw somewhere" he joked as Nova laughed, leaning into his touch " some would say I am extremely critical of myself and stunning? you havent seen me in the mornings "she joked "You shouldnt be, You are......" and before he could finish, Marc leant in and lightly kissed the lips of the angel in front of him. Quickly realising what he had done, he pulled away and embarrassed said "I'm so sorry Novalee, after every..." and before he could say anything else, Nova straddled his lap and kissed him, this time a lot deeper and she felt him kiss her back, his hands working their way through her hair and down her back. Pulling away, she looked at him and he exclaimed "I dont know what kind of witchcraft you have done to me or how you are making me act like this after just meeting you tonight, but all I know Is that I fancy the ass of you" "and I you, not many people can get me to open up the way you have tonight" she replied before adding "we are both drunk though. I think we need sleep, then we can talk with clearer heads in the morning". As she got up,prying herself away from the mans embrace, the pair pecking each others lips, she saw him start to get comfy on the sofa and stated " I have a bed upstairs, that sofa isnt the best to sleep on. You'll be comfier up there" and before he could argue, she took his hand and dragged him with her, wiggling her hips slightly as the dogs rushed passed them to get to their beds. 

As he wrapped his arms around the woman laying with him, Marc looked at the woman, now fast asleep in his embrace, her head on his chest and with a smile on his face, he whispered while running his hands through her hair, scratching her scalp "you will never have to go through what you have gone through alone again I promise you. No mattter what, I will always be by your side" and with that, he kissed her forehead and shut his eyes and drifted off, the smile still plastered on his face.

(A/N I have got my translations from Google translate so I'm not 100% sure if they are correct or not)

come la polla de burro, imbécil petulante-Eat donkey dick, you petulant jackass  
Belle fille-Beautiful girl  
elle est dure et dure-Tough and hard headed she is  
cálmate cachorros, sé que los he extrañado a los dos también-calm it puppies, I know I have missed you both too

Also, if your enjoying this, please leave a comment, this is my first attempted fanfic project and would love some critique


	6. RIP Jon Huber

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Authors Note 
> 
> Please read

With the News of the passing of Jon Huber tonight, I have been trying to decide what to do with the chapters coming up and for the foreseeable, I have gone from carrying on, to putting the story on hold to even discontinuing it all together, but finally I have come to a decision I think (and hope you think to is right) 

I will be putting this book on hold for the foreseeable as a mark of respect and privacy to all of those people who either personally knew him or his fans who are grieving the loss of someone they looked up to for their own reasons. 

When I bring it back, I will mention Jon/Brodie in the chapters I have written out of nothing more than a mark of respect and honour for a man who not only brought light to a lot of peoples lives but potentially saved a lot with the strength of his mentality when he was knocked don to his lowest professionally 

So, please don’t abandon the book, keep checking back as I will be back soon. 

I just feel for his wife, his sons and his family who had lost their whole world 

RIP MR BRODIE LEE 

🖤

If you think my decision is wrong, please let me know, my head is all over about the thought of having to tell my autistic brother when he wakes up that the wrestler he loved has passed away so I’m all over.


End file.
